April was a pretty quiet month for printing because I knew the new printer was coming. May turned crazy once I got the prusa up and running. I already posted on my battery storage and drawer divers in another post.
Salt Grinder
A co-worker had a cool salt grinder that kept breaking. He wasn’t able to get refurbs anymore, so off to printing we go. The body is heavy stainless, but that center window is very thin plastic. It falls over easily and snaps off the threaded area. I printed a tapered part that threads and glues into the spot where the plastic window was. In addition I made a little stand for it to sit in so you can’t knock it over as easily.
Tape Measure Pocket
I typically use a tape measure at the table saw to set the rip width. It works, but I think a wooden ruler would be more reliable. I printed a pocket for it to attach to my table saw side so it is always close at hand.
Wonderful Wooden Filament
Not exactly the same as woodworking, but fun none the less. They make wood dust filled filament. It prints well and has a neat texture to it. This stuff was made for printing baby groot! I tried a set of benchy boats; one stained, one not. It doesn’t appear to stain well, but made a great looking fidget spinner.
Desk Trophies
One of the criticisms of 3d printers is that they are only good for printing desktop trophies. They are good for lots of other things, but yeah, they make awesome desk trophies!
Bit Holders
Ok, back to useful prints. I wanted to better organize my various driver bits, so I made these organizers with nice spacing for you to get fingers in and pick out the bit you need. The markers are made using prusa’s multi-color print. The one where you switch spools at a set Z height, not the one that changes color mid-stream. I couldn’t do that on my last printer, but I am very happy it works on this one! Too bad they don’t sell filament in dewalt yellow.
Mom Stuff
Don’t look mom, this is all going to be a surprise for you! My mom wanted some altioid tin organizers and paint holders. I figured she could also use pen/knitting needle/cable storage stuff as well as some funky knick knacks.
Arbor Press
I picked up a cheap arbor press for pressing bearings, pressing printed parts, etc. I made a number of arbor press fittings sized just for skate bearings and bolts. They have a square hole that gives a perfect friction fit onto the arbor press end. The printer also provided a nice glue on storage rack for my press ends. I couldn’t help myself with the two color printing, and made a crush hazard sign. Watch your fingers. I should print some pirate flare and turn this thing into an ARRRRRRRRbor press.
Random
Last but not least I found a cool box on thingiverse for holding spare printer nozzles, a handle for turning reciprocating saw blades into short hack saws, and a penny powered fidget spinner.
I probably forgot something, but that is enough for now. Since getting the new printer I have printed for 136 hours, and pushed out over 800 meters of filament. That is kind of impressive. I can stop any time I want.
Kilted Craft Works 